History

1910

Mark Isreal’s grandfather, Herman Isreal (left) at the age of 16 when he started working in a St. Paul, Minnesota, bakery.

1918

During World War 1, Herman was stationed in Paris, France, where he baked bread in the Army’s bakery. Herman (far right) with the U.S. Army Bakery Company.

1919

This photo was taken on Herman’s return to the United States. The writing on the photo says “Remains of Bakery Company 351 After the Battle of Paris, September 26, 1919”

1931

Herman and his wife Lea have a son, Marvin (Mark’s father). Photo of Herman with his son and daughter, Marvin and Illene.

1934

First bakery owned by Herman in Burlington, North Carolina. Herman is third from the left, with his wife Lea (far right). If you look closely, in the middle left of the display case you can see the doughnuts.

1935

Herman moves his family to Greensboro, North Carolina and opens The College Pastry Shop at 330 Tate Street. Herman makes all his cakes, cookies and breads from scratch. He creates his own recipes and has many new ideas, including the first cake mix in the 1930s. Every afternoon he makes doughnuts with his original recipe. Marvin’s job is to glaze the doughnuts after school. The College Pastry Shop remains open until December 1965. Herman passed away in June 1966.

1956

Marvin marries Mary Strickland, who as a child was taken to The College Pastry Shop by her mother.

1963

Mark appears! Mark with his parents and older brother David.

1981

Mark moves to New York City.

1994

Mark starts Doughnut Plant with his grandfather’s doughnut recipe.

1994-1999

The basement of a Lower East Side tenement building is converted into a bakery, and for five years Mark makes doughnuts all night, and delivers them in the morning on his bicycle. Dean & Deluca, Balducci’s and many other coffee shops start to buy Doughnut Plant doughnuts. During this time, Mark develops his own techniques of doughnut making, and his original idea of using fresh seasonal fruit and fresh roasted nuts in glazes. (All black and white photography by Paolo Bevilacqua)

1999

After a trip to Mexico, Mark starts making traditional Mexican churros at Doughnut Plant.

2000

Doughnut Plant moves out of the basement bakery and with help from his father and his brother, Mark opens a bakery at 379 Grand Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

2004

Mark invents the Jelly-Filled Square Doughnut™ and Doughnut Plant opens its first bakery in Tokyo, Japan, with a Japanese partner, Jun Goto. There are now nine locations. doughnutplant.jp

2005

First Doughnut Plant cake doughnuts sold December 7, from a recipe Mark developed over five years. Bagels are introduced at Doughnut Plant in Tokyo, using the recipe of Mark’s grandmother Lea.

2006

May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) was the world premiere of the first-ever Tres Leches™ and Blackout™ filled cake doughnuts, now signature staples at Doughnut Plant.

2014

2015

Message from Mark

Doughnut Plant’s mission and passion is providing our customers with the best doughnuts in the world every day using the finest ingredients available. And that’s not done alone.

• I could not have done anything without the help of my father, who from the beginning (of me! and of Doughnut Plant) has always been there with love to help and support.

• The Doughnut Plant is named in the memory of my mother, who gave me everything, and passed away in 1992: Every day when she would see my father off to work, she would say “Have a good day at the Plant.”

• My grandfather died when I was three, but I have made a relationship with him through his doughnut recipe and all that I went through at the bakery, understanding he too went through some of the same experiences.

• New York City — where else could I have experienced so much that made all this happen?

• Thank you to all the devoted Doughnut Plant customers, my friends and to everyone who had any part along the way, and especially our employees who have stayed by me and believed in Doughnut Plant.

I will do my best to make the doughnuts at Doughnut Plant always increasing in their deliciousness.

Gift Cards!

Give someone special their Doughnut Plant fix! Digital Gift Cards are easy to send to anyone. They'll get a gift-wrapped email with their Gift Card which can be redeemed by linking to a new or existing Doughnut Plant app account or by printing out the email. Gift cards are also available in all of our NYC shops.

GET THE DPNYC APP

Doughnut Plant has an app! It lets you pay with your phone and get rewarded and has our latest menu. Just download the free app on your iPhone or Android, register and link a card to get your unique code. Going forward, you'll just scan your code to pay instead of swiping a card. And anytime you pay with the Doughnut Plant app, you build up your loyalty rewards. Spend $50 and you get $5 credit. We'll be announcing specials through the app and have our current specials and menu included, too.